The export business activity for Turkish longs has been rather dull recently, mainly since the EU is mostly out for the vacation period, although some inquiries for the next quota round (starting October 1) have resumed. The demand from the MENA region has been also rather dull and, moreover, the competition with the North African suppliers is still on since their prices levels are pretty much in line with the Turkish ones. In the domestic rebar market of Turkey, both buying activity and the workable price levels have been declining, partly due to financial situation and the fall of the local currency in particular.
The official Turkish export rebar offers have remained at $540-550/mt FOB for September shipment, but more mills find themselves in a position to provide slight discounts despite the stabilized import scrap. Some demand has been coming from Romania and Bulgaria and particularly the latter has been bidding at $530-535/mt FOB.
In the Turkish domestic rebar market, official offers vary at $540-560/mt ex-works versus $550-570/mt ex-works a week earlier, with the upper end of the range referring to the latest offers in the Marmara region. Sources report the general workable rebar prices are at $535-550/mt ex-works, down by $5/mt week on week, with the lower end of the range referring to the transactions in the Izmir region.
An Iskenderun-based mill has issued its official rebar price on August 20 at around $550/mt ex-works for an extended delivery period, $10/mt down amid the ongoing currency fluctuations. According to sources, the latest workable rebar price in this region stands at around $545/mt ex-works, also down by $5/mt over the same period.
In the wire rod segment, most Turkish mills are offering for export at $550-555/mt FOB, stable over the week, for September shipments. In addition, the workable Turkish domestic wire rod prices vary at $545-560/mt ex-works, $5/mt down on the lower end over the past week.